Photo by Jeff Meacham

Before jetting off to New York next week for a four-night run of rare East Coast performances, Chicago-based clarinetist/composer James Falzone will play two very different hometown shows.

Tonight at the Relax Attack Jazz Series at The Whistler, Falzone will perform with his Early Music Quartet featuring Jason Stein (bass clarinet), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics) and Frank Rosaly (drums and electronics). The group improvises on concepts and music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Tomorrow night, as part of Ayako Kato’s Dance Union Series, he’ll improvise with dancer JulieAnn Graham at the Hamlin Park Theater.

His string of New York shows, which will feature all-new collaborations, begins next Thursday at Brooklyn’s Douglass Street Music Collective with his first-ever concert with the improvising collective Gowanus, Co.

On Friday night at Brooklyn’s Ibeam, he’ll perform a duos and trios set with cellist Daniel Levin and trumpeter Nate Wooley and debut his latest ensemble, James Falzone’s Ground Quartet.

The latter, featuring Wooley, bassist Dominic Lash and drummer Harris Eisenstadt, will premiere a new book of original music Falzone composed with inspiration from the plants and animals in his garden.

After a second show with that band on Saturday night at Cafe Orwell in Brooklyn, Falzone will conclude the tour on Sunday with an abridged version of his extended solo work for clarinet and electronics, Sighs Too Deep For Words, at New York’s Downtown Music Gallery.

Learn more at http://allosmusica.org

Photo by David C. Sampson

Chicago-based clarinetist/composer James Falzone will follow-up a quiet month of composing with a diverse series of concerts in July.

Falzone will perform in Chicago with bassist Dominic Lash, his own Early Music Quartet and dancer JulieAnn Graham before heading to New York for concerts featuring solo and duo performances as well as the first-ever dates with the improvising collective Gowanus, Co. and his new ensemble of New York-based collaborators, James Falzone’s Ground Quartet.

Chicago dates:

Monday, July 11th at 7:00 p.m.
James Falzone & Dominic Lash
Experimental Music Mondays
Myopic Books
1564 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, IL

Wednesday, July 13th at 10:00 p.m.
James Falzone/Jeff Parker/Jeb Bishop/Dominic Lash/Tim Daisy
The Hideout
1354 West Wabansia in Chicago, IL

Tuesday, July 19th at 10:00 p.m.
James Falzone’s Early Music Quartet
feat. Jason Stein, Fred Lonberg-Holm and Frank Rosaly
Relax Attack Jazz Series
The Whistler
2421 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago, IL

Wednesday, July 20th at 7:30 p.m.
James Falzone & JulieAnn Graham
Ayako Kato’s Dance Union Series
Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater
3035 N. Hoyne in Chicago, IL

New York dates:

Thursday, July 28th at 8:00 p.m.
Gowanus, Co.
feat. Josh Sinton, Owen Stewart-Robertson, Dominic Lash, James Ilgenfritz, Weasel Walter and others
Douglass Street Music Collective
295 Douglass St. in Brooklyn, NY

Friday, July 29th at 9:00 p.m.
James Falzone & Okkyung Lee + James Falzone’s Ground Quartet
feat. Nate Wooley, Dominic Lash and Harris Eisenstadt
Ibeam
168 7th St. in Brooklyn, NY

Saturday, July 30th at 9:00 p.m.
James Falzone’s Ground Quartet
feat. Nate Wooley, Dominic Lash and Harris Eisenstadt
Cafe Orwell
247 Varet St. in Brooklyn, NY

Sunday, July 31st at 6:00 p.m.
James Falzone’s Sighs Too Deep For Words (solo)
Downtown Music Gallery
13 Monroe St. in New York, NY

Falzone, a nominee for Clarinetist of the Year at the 2011 Jazz Journalists Associations Jazz Awards, released his latest recording, Other Doors (Allos Documents), on April 26th.

The record, the third with his working quartet KLANG, features a book of original compositions and arrangements of Benny Goodman classics Falzone created following an invitation to perform at the 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival as part of the celebration of the King of Swing’s 100th birthday.

Critics have called it “superb” (Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader), “immensely impressive” (Brian Morton, Point of Departure), “simultaneously reverent and progressive” (Jeff Stockton, The New York City Jazz Record) and “mind expanding and definitely worth your time” (Chuck P, KCRW).

“Falzone brilliantly succeeds in giving his twist to this swing,” adds Monsieur Délire‘s François Couture. “The result is a delightful creative jazz record, with intelligent and thoughtful writing.”

Learn more about James Falzone and his many genre-spanning musical endeavors at http://allosmusica.org

Photo by Michael Jackson

Tonight, at 9:30 p.m., Chicago-based clarinetist/composer James Falzone and his acclaimed working quartet KLANG will celebrate the release of their third recording, Other Doors (Allos Documents), with a two-set hometown performance at The Hideout.

The group, which features vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke (Nate McBride will sub while Roebke’s on tour) and drummer Tim Daisy, will be joined by special guests Josh Berman (cornet), Nick Broste (trombone), Keefe Jackson (tenor saxophone and bass clarinet) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics).

KLANG, sans the special guests, will also play at Sugar Maple in Milwaukee on Friday night at 9:00 p.m.

Other Doors, which officially hit the streets on April 26th, finds Falzone paying tribute to fellow Chicago-born clarinetist Benny Goodman. The record features a book of original compositions and arrangements of Goodman classics Falzone created following an invitation to perform at the 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival as part of the celebration of the King of Swing’s 100th birthday.

“When he finally got around to recording the project for the superb new Other Doors (Allos Documents),” writes the Chicago Reader‘s Peter Margasak, “he transformed that swing-era music into something much more personal and contemporary. In the album’s liner notes, he writes that one thing he likes about those small-group records is that ‘personality is as important as notes,’ and the members of KLANG demonstrate similar priorities, especially on Falzone’s new compositions for the project.”

In his review for Point of Departure, eminent music journalist Brian Morton describes Other Doors as “so unmistakably right,” “immensely impressive” and “music driven along by Falzone’s remarkable, capacious imagination and grasp of group dynamics.”

“The record provides a fresh look at the legacy of a respected icon,” adds AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins. “Falzone’s originals exude a bracing balance between avant-garde invention and spirited traditionalism, with the abstruse angles, dynamic structural shifts and pithy rejoinders of ‘The 4:08′ and ‘Goodman’s Paradox’ serving as cogent examples. Supported by the lively contributions of his sideman, Other Doors easily sidesteps the nostalgic clichés that plague many similar homages by bringing a freewheeling and modernistic vitality to the enduring work of a celebrated innovator.”

Falzone, who was just nominated for a 2011 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Award for Clarinetist of the Year, speaks in greater detail about the project in recent interviews with ALARM Magazine, DownBeat (PDF), The Columbia Chronicle and WNUR, as well as in his video for Kickstarter.com, which helped fund the project through individual donations.

Learn more about James Falzone and his many genre-spanning musical endeavors at http://allosmusica.org

Photo by David C. Sampson

Tonight, starting at 10:00 p.m., clarinetist/composer James Falzone will play two sets of improvised music at Elastic in Chicago.

The first set will feature his new duo with saxophonist Dave Rempis, and the second set will feature what he informally calls his Early Music Ensemble (they improvise on medieval Ambrosian chants) with bass clarinetist Jason Stein and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm.

“The duo pairs him with reedist Dave Rempis,” writes Neil Tesser in his preview of the gig for Examiner.com, ”who concentrates on baritone sax for this collaboration. I caught their debut about a month ago at Myopic Books in Wicker Park, and I recommend it highly: post-freedom improv, but redolent with echoes of the Duke Ellington reedmen Jimmy Hamilton and Harry Carney. They hit at 10 PM; the second set (around 11) features Falzone with bass clarinetist Jason Stein and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm. Expect their unique sensibilities to offset and extend the bosky monochrome of the instrumentation.”

Learn more about James Falzone, a Clarinetist of the Year nominee at the 2011 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards, at http://allosmusica.org

Photo by Michael Jackson

Chicago-based clarinetist/composer James Falzone and his acclaimed working quartet KLANG will celebrate the release of their third recording, Other Doors (Allos Documents), with May performances in Chicago and Milwaukee.

Wednesday, May 25th at 9:30 p.m.
The Hideout
1354 West Wabansia in Chicago, IL
http://www.hideoutchicago.com/event/40135/

James Falzone, clarinet
Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone
Nate McBride, bass
Tim Daisy, drums

with special guests:

Josh Berman, cornet
Nick Broste, trombone
Keefe Jackson, tenor saxophone and bass clarinet
Fred Lonberg-Holm, cello and electronics

Friday, May 27th at 9:00 p.m.
Sugar Maple
441 E. Lincoln Ave. in Milwaukee, WI
http://mysugarmaple.com/events.htm

James Falzone, clarinet
Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone
Nate McBride, bass
Tim Daisy, drums

Other Doors, which officially hit the streets on April 26th, finds Falzone paying tribute to fellow Chicago-born clarinetist and jazz icon, Benny Goodman. The record features a book of original compositions and arrangements Falzone created following an invitation to perform at the 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival as part of the celebration of Goodman’s 100th birthday.

Critics described KLANG’s set that day as “an exquisite treat” (Patrick Jarenwattananon, NPR.org) and “among my personal highlights of the last several festivals: it offered a unique perspective, both respectful and progressive, on a musician whose contributions are often taken for granted” (Neil Tesser, Examiner.com).

Falzone has since added additional music to the project’s repertoire, including reimaginings of Swing Era music closely associated with Goodman such as “AC/DC Current” and “Stompin’ At The Savoy”, and the record’s Falzone-penned title track inspired by an incident at a Southern ballroom in the late 1930s when Goodman bravely defied segregation-era rules.

“While Falzone respected Goodman, his legacy, this particular celebration and the festival itself, he initially thought he was the wrong man for the job,” writes DownBeat‘s Associate Editor Aaron Cohen in the liner notes. “But the more he listened to Goodman’s music and thought about his life, the more fascinated he became. Falzone’s links to Goodman shine throughout the disc: primarily an unquestionable virtuosity on the clarinet, along with a sense of fun to make octave leaps sound not just easy, but joyful.”

“Still,” Cohen continues, “while Goodman led most of his groups through hard driving swing, and others through his commissioning of modern classical compositions, Falzone makes these turns through one group—KLANG— and often during a single tune. What winds up being created from throwing all of this together is Falzone and KLANG’s vision of their current environment.”

“This is neither a swing record nor any attempt to play in the style of Goodman and his cohorts,” Falzone explains. “Rather, Other Doors is an attempt to pay homage to a jazz master by doing what jazz musicians have always done: be open-minded, spontaneous and creative, even while looking back a few generations. I set up the arrangements and created new compositions to allow everyone space to be themselves so that listeners would hear some of the same spirit as in those classic Goodman small-group recordings I love so much where personality is as important as notes.”

In his review for Point of Departure, eminent music journalist Brian Morton describes Other Doors as “so unmistakably right,” “immensely impressive” and “music driven along by Falzone’s remarkable, capacious imagination and grasp of group dynamics.”

“The record provides a fresh look at the legacy of a respected icon,” adds AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins. “Falzone’s originals exude a bracing balance between avant-garde invention and spirited traditionalism, with the abstruse angles, dynamic structural shifts and pithy rejoinders of ‘The 4:08′ and ‘Goodman’s Paradox’ serving as cogent examples. Supported by the lively contributions of his sideman, Other Doors easily sidesteps the nostalgic clichés that plague many similar homage’s by bringing a freewheeling and modernistic vitality to the enduring work of a celebrated innovator.”

Falzone, who was just nominated for a 2011 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Award for Clarinetist of the Year, speaks in greater detail about the project in recent interviews with ALARM Magazine, DownBeat (PDF) and The Columbia Chronicle, and an early version of the music can be heard in this September 2009 live performance on Chicago Public Radio’s Eight Forty-Eight.

Learn more about James Falzone and his many genre-spanning musical endeavors at http://allosmusica.org

Congratulations to our clients Darcy James Argue (Arranger of the Year, Large Ensemble of the Year), James Falzone (Clarinetist of the Year) and Mary Halvorson (Guitarist of the Year), as well as AUM Fidelity recording artists Darius Jones (Up & Coming Artist of the Year), William Parker (Bassist of the Year) and Matthew Shipp (Pianist of the Year, Recording of the Year) and frequent Falzone collaborators Jason Adasiewicz (Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (Player of the Year Instruments Rare in Jazz) on their nominations for the 2011 Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards.

And, best wishes to all the musicians, recordings, labels, publications, Web sites, writers and photographers who were also nominated.

Winners will be announced at the JJA Jazz Awards Gala on June 11th at City Winery in New York.

Today is the official street date for Other Doors (Allos Documents), the third release from Chicago-based clarinetist/composer James Falzone‘s working quartet, KLANG.

It features a new book of original compositions and arrangements Falzone created after receiving an invitation to commemorate the Benny Goodman centennial at the 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival.

KLANG’s core line-up of Jason Adasiewicz (vibraphone), Jason Roebke (bass) and Tim Daisy (drums) is augmented by special guests Josh Berman (cornet), Keefe Jackson (saxophone and bass clarinet), Jeb Bishop (trombone) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics) for a program that juxtaposes reimaginings of some of Goodman’s best-known music with new pieces inspired by Falzone’s exploration of the iconic clarinetist’s history.

“Falzone’s links to Goodman shine throughout the disc,” writes DownBeat Associate Editor Aaron Cohen in the liner notes, “primarily an unquestionable virtuosity on the clarinet, along with a sense of fun to make octave leaps sound not just easy, but joyful. Still, while Goodman led most of his groups through hard driving swing, and others through his commissioning of modern classical compositions, Falzone makes these turns through one group—KLANG—and often during a single tune. What winds up being created from throwing all of this together is Falzone and KLANG’s vision of their current environment.”

In his review for Point of Departure, eminent music journalist Brian Morton described the record as “so unmistakably right,” “immensely impressive” and “music driven along by Falzone’s remarkable, capacious imagination and grasp of group dynamics.”

“Blending new pieces with startling arrangements of old standards,” adds AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins, “the record provides a fresh look at the legacy of a respected icon. Falzone’s originals exude a bracing balance between avant-garde invention and spirited traditionalism, with the abstruse angles, dynamic structural shifts and pithy rejoinders of ‘The 4:08′ and ‘Goodman’s Paradox’ serving as cogent examples. Supported by the lively contributions of his sideman Other Doors easily sidesteps the nostalgic clichés that plague many similar homage’s by bringing a freewheeling and modernistic vitality to the enduring work of a celebrated innovator.”

Falzone talks more about the project in feature articles from ALARM Magazine and The Columbia Chronicle.

KLANG will celebrate the release of Other Doors at The Hideout in Chicago on May 25th and Sugar Maple in Milwaukee on May 27th.

Learn more about James Falzone and his various musical projects at http://allosmusica.org

On April 26th, Chicago-based clarinetist/composer James Falzone will release Other Doors (Allos Documents 006), the third recording from his working quartet, KLANG. The record features a new book of arrangements and original material Falzone created following an invitation to celebrate Benny Goodman’s 100th birthday at the 2009 Chicago Jazz Festival. Joined by longstanding band members Jason Adasiewicz (vibraphone), Jason Roebke (bass) and Tim Daisy (drums), and special guests Josh Berman (cornet), Keefe Jackson (saxophone and bass clarinet), Jeb Bishop (trombone) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics), Falzone juxtaposes reimaginings of some of Goodman’s best-known music with new pieces inspired by an exploration of the iconic clarinetist’s history.

“While Falzone respected Goodman, his legacy, this particular celebration and the festival itself, he initially thought he was the wrong man for the job,” writes DownBeat‘s Associate Editor Aaron Cohen in the liner notes. “But the more he listened to Goodman’s music and thought about his life, the more fascinated he became. Falzone’s links to Goodman shine throughout the disc: primarily an unquestionable virtuosity on the clarinet, along with a sense of fun to make octave leaps sound not just easy, but joyful. Still, while Goodman led most of his groups through hard driving swing, and others through his commissioning of modern classical compositions, Falzone makes these turns through one group—KLANG— and often during a single tune. What winds up being created from throwing all of this together is Falzone and KLANG’s vision of their current environment.”

“This is neither a ‘swing’ record nor any attempt to play in the style of Goodman and his cohorts,” Falzone explains. “Rather, Other Doors is an attempt to pay homage to a jazz master by doing what jazz musicians have always done: be open-minded, spontaneous and creative, even while looking back a few generations. Like Goodman and his co-conspirators, such as Lionel Hampton, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa and Charlie Christian, we have a community of players in Chicago at the present who are spurring each other on to new creativity. I set up the arrangements and created new compositions to allow everyone space to be themselves so that listeners would hear some of the same spirit as in those classic Goodman small-group recordings I love so much where personality is as important as notes.”

Founded by Falzone in January 2006, KLANG is known as “an outstanding quartet” (Mark Corroto, AllAboutJazz.com), “a major force on the creative improvised music scene” (Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic.com) and “a serious group with a unique voice” (Randy Salman, Clarinet Journal). “The musicianship itself is first-rate,” adds Dusted‘s Marc Medwin in his review of 2009′s Tea Music (Allos Documents 003), “rooted in swing and cool but cognizant of all events transpiring since.” Critics called its Goodman centennial set at the Chicago Jazz Festival “an exquisite treat” (Patrick Jarenwattananon, NPR.org) and “among my personal highlights of the last several festivals: it offered a unique perspective, both respectful and progressive, on a musician whose contributions are often taken for granted” (Neil Tesser, Examiner.com).

“Chicago clarinetist/composer James Falzone is a gem in a robust jazz mine,” writes ALARM Magazine‘s Music Editor Scott Morrow, “merging dynamic improv chops with classical compositions and a reverence for musical traditions.” He is an acclaimed member of Chicago’s jazz and creative improvised music scene, a veteran contemporary music lecturer and clinician, the longtime Director of Music for Grace Chicago Church and an award-winning composer who has been commissioned by chamber groups and symphony orchestras among other institutions. His wide-ranging career also includes sideman work in Tim Daisy’s chamber-jazz trio Vox Arcana, the French music ensemble Le Bon Vent and Dutch saxophonist Jorrit Dijkstra’s The Flatlands Collective. In addition to KLANG, Falzone also leads the versatile decade-old ensemble Allos Musica, which released its Arabic-themed third recording, Lamentations (Allos Documents 005), in November.

Learn more at http://allosmusica.org